Page 60 of Keeping Her Safe

“Is the estate worth anything without the house?” Zoey looked around the tiny house on the beach.

“Have you ever heard of the Traveler series by Z Connor?” Zephyr asked the table.

“Of course. Ben loves those books. We brought Zachary’s copies with us,” Evie stated.

“That’s me. I wrote that series.” Zephyr nodded, then wanted to laugh at the shocked faces that were staring at her. Having actually told so few people of who she is, it always seemed weird to see their reactions.

“They’re making a movie about that series!” Zoey’s eyes were wide.

“That might be in the works.” She hadn’t agreed to it yet, but maybe.

“You have the dreaded curls.” Zoey smiled from across the table as if she just noticed them.

Zephyr touched her hair. It hadn’t taken long to return to its natural state, especially in the Florida humidity. “Yes, all my life.”

“Now that we know about you, we are not letting you go.” Della took Zephyr’s hand in hers.

“I don’t know if you’ll want me. I am not really like you. I am not very outgoing or fun. I write because I can do it alone. I like to be alone because I am not good with people,” Zephyr said.

“I think that we all know you enough to know we’ll get along. You are more fun than you think,” Zoey said with a wink.

“That’s what I keep telling her.” Zachary appeared from the side of the house and leaned onto the deck rail. “Hello, ladies.”

All three greeted Zachary and chatted briefly with him. Zephyr watched how comfortable he was with the situation. He was looking like his old self with a pair of board shorts and a soft T-shirt. As she had recovered from her gunshot wound, he had removed his bandage altogether.

Turning to her, he said, “Zephyr, can we watch the sunset together tonight? Or do you want to stay here and watch it from here? It’s our anniversary.”

Biting her lip, she stood up and asked, “What anniversary?”

Walking over to her, he took her hand in his, kissed her lightly, and said, “One week ago today, we watched the sunset from this very deck, or you did. I was over there. I want you with me this time.” He kissed her again.

With her hand in his, she let him pull her onto the warm sand. For a moment, she thought she was being rude to her guests, but then that faded. They could wait. Though he was still pulling her, she stopped when her ankles were in the water, then took one more step in. He was testing her boundaries, and she was letting him push a little at a time. Then she stopped and dropped his hand.

Turning to her, he pulled her in his arms so that he had her pressed to his chest. His warm hands were resting under her shirt on her bare stomach. “Has it already been a week?”

“I’m hoping this coming week is even better than the last,” he said. “No stalkers, no shooting, and no big trips.”

“Just stay here and spend time together? Sounds like a letdown.” She leaned her head against his shoulder.

“I think in about four days, I am going to pick a fight with you so we can yell a little, then have makeup sex.” His voice and words sent shivers up her spine. Hopefully, her wound will be healed a little more before this fight.

Both stood in silence as the sun kissed the ocean and slid slowly into the water. Reds, oranges, and yellows were aglow in the sky beyond them.

“Thank you, Zachary, for coming back into my life to protect me.”

“Thank you for letting me … barely.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

They stayed there until the sun was gone. When they turned back to the house, the sisters were still there. Last week, they were alone in the world. Today it seemed there was a whole family that wanted them.

EPILOGUE

In Minnesota, they say it can get too cold to snow. Apparently, that wasn’t negative ten, because that was the temperature outside the plane, where it was actively snowing. Not the fun, big flakes in the movies but little ones that pound against everything. Zephyr couldn’t take her eyes off the stuff. This wasn’t the first time she had seen snow since she met her sisters, but it never got old. It did get cold, but not old.

They had been back a few times over the last fourteen months, and the families had come out to visit them. They had all come to attend the wedding that Zachary and Zephyr had on New Year’s Day last year and had come again in April to escape the snow that Zephyr loved so much. Zachary and Zephyr had gone up for Thanksgiving and then again in February to see the snow, and again in June for Zoey’s birthday. After that, Zephyr had to spend more time in California than she had ever planned.

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